I cannot remember exactly when, somewhere between 1994 and 1996, I was able to buy a copy of the Star Trek Next Generation Interactive Technical Manual, which was essentially a virtual walk-through of the Star Trek Enterprise D.

It was written to work with QuickTime and Windows 3.1, and needed a Pentium processor with 16 MB of memory. The software was on a CD, and needed, believe it or not, a 2x CD speed drive. Also needed was a VGA card cable of displaying a whopping 256 colors at 640×480 resolution and required a mouse. Yes, I said it required a mouse; remember we were in the days of DOS with text commands. While the requirements seem paltry by the standards of today, they were fairly stiff in the day.

The software would allow you to move freely around the ship and interact with various consoles. It would also give you information about the systems you were viewing. However, you were limited to specific areas of the ship. There were voice-overs by Jonathan Frakes (Commander Ricker) and Marel Barret Roddenberry (Computer Voice) to give it a feel of being on the star-ship.

As I moved into newer computers and newer versions of Windows, I shelved the software and forgot about it. About two years ago, I notice a book called On Board The USS Enterprise by Denise and Michael Okuda (graphics and special effects on STNG). I ran the software about once and shelved it. Compared to the Interactive Technical Manual, it was lacking in my opinion.

Today I discovered a bold project by a 3D artist who identifies himself as Jason. Using the 3D Engine by Unreal, he is making a deck by deck interactive Enterprise D. His website, last updated in June 2015, explains he is working from multiple resources trying to keep the details as accurate were possible.

He has a Patreon and a Kickstarter campaign to help him fund his work in his spare time. He would like to grow the project further and was hoping to secure licensing permission from CBS.

On his website he has a video showing the level of detail he has been able to achieve, and I am impressed.

The original Star Trek is infamously known for killing members of the crew wearing a red uniform shirt during away missions . The red shirt uniform is commonly associated the security officers on the ship who were like cannon fodder on “away missions.” However, the red shirt was actually worn by support service which included Communications and Engineering.

Lt. Uhura as well as the above pictured Mr. Scott are a few of the crew who survived the curse of the red shirt….

Found on Facebook. I would like to give credit to the artist, but I cannot read the name clearly.

Back in 1982 after the release of Wrath of Khan, I was feeling upset so I went for a walk. Suddenly I broke into sobbing and then it hit me how emotionally attached was to Leonard Nimoy’s character Spock who died in that movie. I think I liked the character partly because of his scientific intellect, but also because he worked so hard rise above his emotions. For some reason I have never liked being controlled by my emotions. The funny thing is the character of Spock also helped me come to terms with being an emotional human being. As Spock learned to embrace his human side, so too did I learn to deal with humanness in myself.

In the words of Kirk at the end of Wrath of Khan – ” We are assembled here today to pay final respects to our honored dead. And yet it should be noted that in the midst of our sorrow, this death takes place in the shadow of new life, the sunrise of a new world; a world that our beloved comrade gave his life to protect and nourish. He did not feel this sacrifice a vain or empty one, and we will not debate his profound wisdom at these proceedings. Of my friend, I can only say this: of all the souls I have encountered in my travels, his was the most… human. “